The Evolution of Social Behavior in Dogs and Wolves

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Synopsis. Patterns of behavior in the Family Canidae appear to be conservative traits in evolution. Darwin's concept of sexual selection may be broadened to social selection, in? cluding all factors in the environment which exert selection pressure. In a highly species, the environment tends to be stable, generation after generation, accounting for the stability of behavioral patterns. The evolution of behavior is also related to development, with different and sometimes opposite selection pressures acting at different periods in life. Some myths and misconceptions regarding dog-wolf behavior are described, and some problems for future research outlined. One of the things which distinguishes different members of the Family Canidae from each other is the differential develop? ment of behavior. Among the close relatives of the domestic dog, the most highly species is the wolf, and it is this characteristic which enables us to say with a good deal of certainty that dogs are most probably descended from wolves rather than from other forms, the coyote and jackal, which normally form no group larger than a mated pair or, for a brief peri? od, the litter born to this pair. In the process of preparing an ethogram for the dog we listed some 90 behavior pat? terns observed in the laboratory, nursery, and free situations (Scott and Fuller, 1965). We then examined the available descriptions of behavior of the wolf, particularly those of Murie (1944), Young and Gold? man (1944), and Schenkel (1947), and found all but 19 of the same patterns ob? served in dogs. Most of the missing ones were minor patterns of behavior that al? most undoubtedly do occur in wolves and had simply escaped observation under field and zoo conditions. Conversely, the very few behavior patterns reported in wolves but not in dogs were those observed in spe? cial hunting situations and hence not like? ly to occur in dogs living under our condi? tions. The only major behavior pattern of wolves that has not yet been reported in dogs is that of a dominant wolf pinning a subordinate one to the ground by the neck (Ginsburg, 1965). We felt justified, therefore, in concluding that the dog could only have been domesticated from the wolf. As further evi? dence comes in from detailed behavioral studies of other Canidae, this evidence can? not be given as much weight, although the data now available for broader compari? sons in no way conflict with our original conclusion. Tembrock (1957) did a de? tailed ethogram of the red fox and was able to identify many of the same patterns of be? havior as in the dog and wolf, with minor modifications such as the tone of the bark. Significantly, Tembrock did not find the dog-wolf postures of dominance and subordination. Foxes are even more solitary than coyotes and jackals, and they appar? ently have never evolved patterns of ago? nistic behavior which would permit them to live in larger groups than the mated pair.